A Bond Unbreakable
by GravityNeko
Summary: A little introspection on Luke's grief.


Dr. Mandor couldn't help but notice how forlorn his patient looked. He'd been treating Luke for several years. The Jedi's case was like one he'd never seen. Usually the death of spouse did affect the other; but he had never seen someone affected to this much extent.

To the non-Force sensitive, it seemed Luke was wounded in a way he couldn't comprehend. Maybe it had a lot to do with the Force.

"Tell me, Luke…How long had you known your wife, when she was still just Mara Jade?" The therapist asked.

"Ten years. What does this have anything to do with my grief?"

"Humor me." He scrawled some notes. "So, ten years."

"Yes." Luke was confused as to where the man was going with this line of inquiry.

"Long time."

Luke was becoming slightly agitated.

He tapped his pen. "True or false: your relationship with Miss Jade was the longest you'd ever had with a female at that time?"

Luke frowned inwardly. He felt slightly bothered the man kept referring to Mara by her maiden name.

"Luke?"

"What was the question again?"

The therapist sighed. "Was your relation to your wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, the longest relationship you'd had with a woman?"

"You mean besides my sister?"

"You know that doesn't count, Luke."

"Excluding my sister; I'd say yes. My relationship with Mara is the longest one I'd had with a woman…on that level."

"What level?"

"An emotional one." He clarified.

"How would you say your relationship was with Miss Jade at the time?"

"Rocky."

"Rocky?"

"Mara was always on the defensive about things…..I saw her as a friend and thus cared about her a great deal, but I don't think she took well to it; or at least she didn't know quite how to deal with it."

"So it was unstable."

"I guess you could say that; I didn't find it to be that way."

"But you said it was rocky…" Mandor reminded him.

"Rocky, yes, but I never thought of our relationship as unstable. Barring Mara constantly going out of her way to act like she hated me, I think our relationship was very good."

"Do you think your wife would say the same?"

"Back then…probably not. ...As I said, I don't think she knew how to deal with them….her feelings. Mara hated anything she couldn't comprehend or control; didn't like her emotions to be all over the place. It wasn't until much later that Mara began accepting me as a friend." He chuckled lightly. "But it was not without its interesting points and challenges."

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"Mara was always very vocal. She said what she thought. I guess if you wanted to say it, you would say she had a propensity for…verbal abuse. More especially when it came to me than most." Mandor noted he seemed to become introspective at this. "But I cared for her because of that….and I loved her before I even knew I loved her. It was because of Mara that I learned a few things more about myself; I reassessed my life because she spoke out to me. "

He smiled sadly. "She was my best friend and I was hers. I think till this day, that I was the only true friend Mara ever had. Which is why, even though she spoke harshly to me, I never saw her as having the desire to hurt me. So to answer your question, yes Mara would have said our relationship was unstable…to me…it was…something else. Sure, it had its ups and downs—what friendship doesn't—but I never saw us as unstable. Looking back, we were more in sync than anyone could have ever imagined. "

Mandor contemplated all his patient had revealed to him. Grief was always normal, but could Luke's grief stem from a bond that occurred as if by kismet.

"They way you speak of it; you had this bond with your wife from the very beginning."

"Yes."

Mandor was aware what the beginning was—Mara Jade Skywalker had once been an assassin on a deadly mission; her sole purpose at that point in her life had been to end that of Luke Skywalker's. She had hated him and desired his death above all else; she had believed Luke to be ruthless murderer and vile human being. That was something Dr. Mandor learned was perpetuated by her master, Emperor Palpatine.

That such hatred could lead to something marvelous…

From the very beginning, he thought, it was from the moment she announced her intent that these two had been linked. It was an astounding revelation on his part; he wasn't one to believe in fate, but somehow he knew that it was true. He now comprehended why Luke's love for his wife was so strong even after her death; why he grieved so badly….

"Our Force-bond may have shown itself at Nirauan," Luke said. "But I believe it existed long before then. Back when we barely knew each other…and the one thing on her mind was death. It existed. And that's why I will always love her…"

Mandor simply nodded. He didn't claim to understand the Force, but he did understand how such a meeting had profoundly affected the Jedi Master.

Mara and Luke had met unwittingly thirty-four years ago, unaware of what would transpire later on, and had in the end found in eachother more than they could possibly imagine.

Yes, it made perfect sense now.

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**This was on my computer for awhile; finished it. I think its different than how it was supposed to be, but I think it turned out pretty darn good.**


End file.
